Blurred Lines
by Bubblephobia
Summary: After the tragic death of her parents Sakura goes to live with her wealthy uncle. On her first day of school she runs into a teacher, quite literally. Little does she know it is only the beginning of a dangerous obsession.
1. A Line Crossed

Chapter Title: A Line Crossed

Chapter Rating: PG-14

A/N: This story was definitely inspired after listening to Possession by Sarah McLachlan and Possum Kingdom by The Toadies, creepy and stalkerish. First chapter will be short, but they will get longer. Expect a Full Circle chapter by the end of the week maybe sooner.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

The first few days of school were always exciting; it was the other one hundred and seventy-seven that sucked. There were new teachers, fresh faces, and hot guys to meet. Classes were always easiest during this adjusting time, no homework usually. At least that was how Sakura felt stepping into her second year of high school, first year of private, despite having to walk to her new school on a hot humid morning. She liked to look at things from a positive view. Half full, not half-empty.

At least she would be getting her driving license soon, her sixteenth birthday was in two weeks and she planned to skip school to go get it. Two years ago it wouldn't have mattered if she got her license or not, her mother or father would have gladly given her a ride to school. Now, well, it mattered.

She arrived an hour early, more than enough time to find her locker and first class, which happened to be Geometry. She didn't want to admit she was nervous, but the constant fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach was making her nauseous and her steps were wobbly as she walked down the crystal clean halls of Konoha High. For a private school, it was huge, she didn't think this many rich kids lived in town. Apparently they did, for only the elite could get in, and the only reason she could get in was because her uncle took her in when her parents died. He was possibly the richest man in Konohagakure, and he insisted on sending his niece to a privileged school.

Sakura told herself leaving her old friends and comfort zone might be good for starting a new chapter in her life, maybe here she wouldn't be constantly reminded of the past. She wanted to believe that, she really did. She only wished she were a better liar.

So wrapped up in her own world of anxious thoughts and past sentiments she didn't look before she rounded a corner straight into the chest of some poor soul. She fell flat on her butt, feeling as though she had hit a wall. "I'm so sorry!" Please don't let him be mad, she begged, mentally cringing when she saw it was a teacher she had so carelessly run into. "I wasn't looking where I was going, I-"

"Yeah, no shit."

Huh? She almost replied dumbly. How rude! Blushing furiously she stood up grabbing her book bag. "Well excuse you, but it seems you also were not looking where you were going." Jackass. He smirked at this, and Sakura realized how oddly handsome he was. Long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, half his comely face covered with it like some sort of emo rock star. One mischievous blue eye regarded her, making her legs tremble with the tension.

He leaned down ever so smoothly, and whispered into her ear, "Maybe I was looking, hm." He brushed passed her, not touching her with anything except the heat of his body. Sakura stood stone still until he vanished down another hall.

What the hell was that?

She began straightening her crisp navy blue jacket and uniform skirt, dusting off the invisible specks of dirt, completely infuriated; how dare he…he…he what? What exactly had he done? Though very creepy, it was nothing she could report him for that was for sure. She'd only look like a tattletale. She could only hope she never _ever _ran into that guy again.

The day passed quickly, like a whirlwind had picked her up and thrown her from one classroom to the other. Most of the time she kept to herself, but a few people had the courtesy to introduce themselves and ask if she needed help finding anything. Of course she politely declined not wishing to be a burden on anyone.

It was the typical high school setting, with the popular kids, mean girls, jocks, cast-offs, fat kids, and emo children. At least this was nothing new, she supposed high schools were the same everywhere. A very simple, yet intricate formula of social evolution.

It gave her a headache.

Lunchtime rolled around faster than she would have liked. Not that she didn't enjoy food, she loved the stuff perhaps too much. However seating was limited, and spots filled up fast. Half of them already gone by the time she arrived.

Hesitantly she entered the cafeteria, bracing herself for the roar of voices, slippery floors, and piled trash. Quickly she found a table with no one else sitting. Taking a shaky breath she began to open her brown bag when she felt someone standing menacingly behind her. The aura felt hot and angry and was meant to intimidate, however Sakura was hardly put off. She had been in many fights with girls and guys who had tried to screw with her at her old school, she doubted there would be anyone here whom she could not win against.

She chose to ignore the other person until they spoke up, "Umm hey new kid, that's my seat. So if you could get up and move that would be just peachy."

Sakura nearly laughed at her request, but chose to turn and study this newfound adversary. It was a tall slender girl, with sharp blue eyes and an impressive length of blonde hair. She wore the standard uniform with the top unbuttoned far too low for any self-respecting girl, and the plaid skirt rolled up past her knees. Perfect.

"You know what would be really peachy blondie? If you would get the fuck away from me before I'm forced to kicked your skinny ass." Sakura looked her dead in the eye, her face completely emotionless, inwardly begging her to try something, anything.

Instead she did something that completely took her off guard. She smirked, not a mocking smirk, but an impressed smirk. "Hn." The blonde walked around to the other side of the table, sitting across from Sakura's stiff form. "You got guts girl, I'll give you that. Name's Ino." She held out an extended hand with perfectly manicured nails.

Sakura took it, not wanting to seem like a complete bitch, shaking it like her father had taught her. Not too hard, but not weak either, just right. "Sakura."

"Yeah, I know. We have four classes together." Sakura blushed embarrassed she hadn't remembered who she was, or even seeing her at all. "Don't worry about it, it's tough being the new kid. I don't really sit here by the way, I was just testing you. You looked like you really wanted to kick my ass!" She laughed at the last sentence, somehow finding it hilarious.

"Testing me?" Sakura frowned, utterly confused. She wanted to test to see if I would stand up for myself?

"Well you see I'm co captain of the Martial Arts team, it's my job to go recruit. You seemed like a martial arts kind of girl. You gotta pass my test firth though." She slurped on her blueberry slushy, staring expectantly at Sakura.

"So, did I pass?" Sakura asked more amused than curious.

Ino laughed in her girlish fashion, "I believe you are the first person to announce you will kick my ass, so yeah you pass. What do you say, are you interested?" She sounded truly sincere, but Sakura was wary of the offer.

"I'll think about it," She promised.

The blonde squealed in delight, "Sweet, we have a practice after school in the main gym. You can sit and watch if you'd like."

"Okay." She might as well, she didn't have any plans except to go home and do…nothing. Only her and her uncle lived at the mansion, there were no servants, or cooks, or pets, only them. Most of the time her uncle was holed up in his room, his depression having taken a huge toll on him after he lost his wife a little over a year ago.

"Oh my gosh, Tenten and Hinata will be so excited to meet you! They have B lunch so they won't be joining us today, but sometimes the two lunches do crossover. But anyway…" She stopped seeing the other girl lose interest, her intense emerald eyes looking past her. Ino turned to see what it was she was so absorbed by, snorting she smiled to herself knowingly. "Hot, right?"

Sakura shook her head, coming out of her reverie. "What?"

"You know what." She cocked her head to the side indicating the teacher's table at the far end of the cafeteria. "Seems like you have a thing for the art teacher. He is super cute, but is he weird as hell."

"You're telling me." Sakura replied prying her eyes away.

Ino's shiny blue eyes grew huge, "So you met him?"

She shrugged, and couldn't help looking at him again. He was staring straight at her. "You could say that," She answered slowly, averting her gaze back to Ino.

Ino's grin spread wide across her face. "Oh yeah? How?" She looked as though she were anticipating some mind blowing answer, Sakura made a confused face what was with her?

"I ran into him this morning, neither of us were looking where we were going, it was really strange. Nothing too exciting though." She added seeing Ino's face contort into unbridled enthusiasm. Ino made another squeal, this one a little louder than the other, "You might want to get that checked out."

"Oh. My. Gosh." Punctuating every word, and ignoring Sakura's jibe. "You ran into Deidara? Like literally ran into him?"

Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable Sakura made a motion with her hand waving the story away regretting having mentioned it, "It wasn't anything, we apologized and went on our way. Wouldn't it be Mr. Deidara at least?"

"Oh no," Ino answered very seriously, "He hates when the students call him Mr. he likes to be on an even level with us, you know?"

Sakura frowned at this, why would a teacher care if he were on the same level as his students? There should be boundaries, granted it was a small line crossed she still found the notion of calling a teacher by his first name disrespectful.

She could feel his forceful gaze on her again, not even wanting to confirm her suspicions she simply moved a seat over so that Ino blocked his line of sight. Much better. "Why'd you move?"

"Seat moved too much," She lied.

Her newfound friend moved to sit across from her again, but Sakura shook her head. "No, no you're fine there."

Lunch ended soon after and an hour later she found herself sitting in her last class of the day. Art class. Purposefully she sat at the back of the class, unsure who her art teacher was, and wary that it was whom she suspected it to be. Ino had said this Deidara was an art teacher after all, and she wasn't about to take any chances.

The bell rang loud and clear Sakura's stomach full of crazy butterflies, more so than even this morning. The door handle turned every-so-slowly revealing a flash of bright blonde hair, "Good day class! Hope everyone is having an excellent first day of school." _Fuck, _it was him. Good day indeed. She covered her face with her free hand hoping he hadn't noticed her, and began doodling on the white scratch paper on her desk.

"My name is Deidara," He began, writing his name on the dry erase board. "I will be your art teacher for the rest of the semester, hm." Her drawing became darker as she pressed harder, four whole months with this whack job? "Please do not begin drawing on the paper on your desk until instructed to do so, hm."

Sakura's face went crimson looking up, again she found his visible eye trained upon her. Turning her pencil around she erased the pencil markings, careful not to tear the paper. Nobody else had seemed to notice, all heads turned towards their precious sensei. Now taking the time to study the other students, they seemed to be completely absorbed by his presence, they followed his every move, and seemed to hang on his every word.

What was so special about this guy?

Sure he was handsome, he might have been charismatic even, but nothing extraordinary. Nothing came to mind that would make them act in such a manner. In all of her other classes the students were not transfixed on the teacher, in fact the teacher was lucky if he had one or two taking notes. But this guy, he had all of them, not one was looking off somewhere or dozing.

The class went on as normally as could be expected. Surrounded by mindless slaves Sakura followed the teacher's instructions as closely as possible so she would not be called out again. She tried not to make eye contact with him, which seemed impossible for every time she would look at the board he was focusing on her.

The bell rang in due time and the spell over her classmates dissipated, the cloud was lifted and the golden path to freedom lit up. "Be safe my students, I will see all of you tomorrow, hm."

The class unanimously agreed that they would indeed be safe, and that they could not wait to see him again. Sakura was about to make a quick undetected exit when Deidara called her name. She gulped, her stomach dropping and her heart pounding, what the hell did he want?

"Sakura could you stay after a few minutes hm, I would like to speak with you." Several catty glares came from the female students, and even one from a guy.

She backtracked excusing herself from the doorway, wishing very badly now she had ignored him and continued to walk away. When the last student exited a very awkward silence ensued, she cleared her throat uncomfortably when he didn't speak for several minutes, instead leaning against his desk watching her yet again. "You said you wanted to speak with me?" She urged.

He smiled, a very charming, handsome smile that would have sent most of her female classmates fainting. However to her it came off as creepy, and even a little psychotic. "About this morning-"

"Don't even worry about it." She interrupted sensing where this was heading already.

"I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior, hm." He continued as though he hadn't heard her.

She shifted uncomfortably, biting her lip, "Really it's not a big deal, I had totally forgot about it. Forgive and forget that's my motto." She laughed nervously hoping to ease the tension, it didn't work.

"Oh really?" He took a step forward, as she took a step back. "Do you have any other mottos I should know about, hm?" He asked with another step forward, and another, until Sakura was backed up against the wall. Her heart racing and her mind screaming at her danger! Danger!

He approached slowly, then held a hand on the wall blocking the exit and trapping her. His other hand reached up and tenderly traced her jaw line, she couldn't move, couldn't breathe, all she could do was stare memorized by his incredibly blue eye. His powerful aura washed over her, and somehow she knew there was no way for her to fend him off. She was helpless, in her worst dreams she was never helpless. There was always some course of action to take, but something wasn't right here. There was something wrong with this guy.

"Stop." She barely managed to whisper, her throat dry. Maybe if he knew she wasn't like the other girls, she didn't want his attention or affection he would go away, perhaps he had gotten the wrong impression somehow.

Her plea did not help her plight one bit, it urged him on. "You want me to stop, hm?" He leaned in very close to the curve of her neck. She felt his hot breath as he breathed her in, she swallowed her distaste. "I highly doubt you want me to stop."

"No, I really do." She insisted, placing leaden hands on his chest attempting to push away. He let himself be pushed back, shocked to see she was actually shaken by his actions. "You do realize what you are doing is illegal right?" Encouraged by his surprised expression she continued, talking as though he were a small child. "I'm a student, you're a teacher, you can't do this."

He smirked, mockingly. "I can do whatever I want, there are no rules for the likes of me hm. You must come to understand this, Sakura."

Her eyes grew wide with alarm, searching his face for any sort of deceit. For some reason she had no doubt about his claim, not after watching how her classmates cooed and fawned over him. Just who was this guy?

Thankfully there was a knock on the door, Deidara was gone in an instant, faster than her mind could process. He was already leaning back against his desk on the far side of the room. How did he move so quickly? She nearly fell to the floor breathless from their encounter.

"Come in." Sakura ran out of the door as soon as it was open, not even bothering to see who it was that had unwittingly saved her.

She ran until her legs felt as though they could no longer support her. Through those huge shiny hallways, past empty classrooms and the cafeteria. Soon she found herself in the middle of the soccer field by herself. She vomited feeling utterly disgusted with her weakness. How had she not been able to simply move, to knee him, something, anything to get him to back off. It was like she had been paralyzed, not by fear, but by some invisible force. How far would he have gone if there had not been a visitor? She shuddered, still able to feel the way his hand had ghosted the lines of her jaw.

She realized with trepidation she had missed a good chunk of the Martial Arts practice, there wouldn't even be enough time to actually find the Main Gym to sit and watch. She had really been looking forward to seeing how skilled the kids were at this school. Kicking up a patch of field dirt she headed home, still unable to shake the feeling of being watched.


	2. Peeping Sakura

Chapter Title-Peeping Sakura

Chapter Rating- M

A/N- Enjoy, more to come!

Disclaimer- I, the BubbliestofPhobias, do not own Naruto.

It had been three days since the incident in the crazy art teacher's class, and Sakura had not been to school since then. Most of the time she laid in bed or wandered up and down her Uncle's private estate. She couldn't go back, and risk seeing him again, what if he tried something else?

The morning after the whole affair she had gone straight to the councilor and demanded she be put in another class, any class, besides Deidara's. She was met with an expression of utter disbelief and dismissed with a warning to be respectful of her elders. Elders, she huffed, maybe the councilor would like to remind the elder in question of his elderly status. The school had called of course, but Sakura was always the one to pick up the phone claiming her Uncle was indisposed of at the moment, which actually was the truth. He was in no mood to deal with her little rebellion, not to mention Sakura was afraid of what he'd do. Her uncle was in no way violent toward her, but sometimes his moods were frightening. He had changed, changed into a being that was neither alive or dead, just…existing. Ever since his wife's death he had never been the same…

The night of her aunt's death Sakura had hidden under her bed crying, paralyzed with a gripping terror. Her uncle had found her, Auntie Konan, in their master bathroom, in the tub, her delicate wrists sliced with cruelly deep downward strokes. She had bled to death.

It had been that weird howling noise that had led her to that scarring scene, a sound she'd never heard before, wolf-like almost. As she cautiously approached her Uncle and Aunt's private bedroom the sound grew shriller, nearly unbearable. She drew back when her foot touched a wet spot on the carpet, it was soaked through. She didn't want to walk through it, but the noise was resonating from the master bath; the door was closed but there was light spilling from the crack. Her steps made squishy noises like she was stepping on a broken watermelon.

Sakura hesitated at the door, her hand hovering above the knob. What would she see in there? Who was making that howling sound? She twisted the knob letting the door swing itself slowly open. The bloody water had spilled over, the luxurious bathroom was irreparably stained, the floor, the tub. Her uncle would never use that room again, he would lock it up and throw away the key. He kneeled by the bear claw tub holding her Aunt. She was naked and wrinkled from the bath water. He rocked her pale form tenderly as though she were but a child. He had looked up at Sakura, with broken eyes, the simmering anger, that terrible bitterness, piercing through her.

"Get out," A deadly hiss, barely audible. Sakura froze, the sight before her too awful to comprehend. "Get out!" In her panic to escape she slipped in the bloody water, it was cold and the red ran in rivulets down her arms and knees. She ran, not even realizing where she was going, she just knew she had to hide somewhere. She found sanctity under her bed, as she had done as a child during a thunderstorm. She curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep, missing her parents more in that moment than she ever had.

Uncle Pein had not left his estate at all in the last six months. He ran his organization, the Akatsuki, from a guest bedroom on the second floor, as far away as he could get from the master bedroom. No one dared enter the master bedroom.

Sakura was just wondering what to do about her absences when a familiar figure appeared at the estate's front gate. From her bedroom she spied what looked to be an Ino waiting at the entrance. Quickly she dressed, running down three flights of stairs and across the perfectly manicured lawn. Her Uncle kept the outside flawless with a team of gardeners, though he had fired the maids and butlers. She was breathless by the time she stood in front of the gates, she clicked the safety switch and waited for them to swing open.

Ino stood akimbo, a very disappointed facial expression greeted Sakura. Her hair, the lightest shade of blonde Sakura had ever seen, was pulled into a neat ponytail. Eyes glinted at her with a mixture of displeasure and awe. "And what may I ask is this?" She made a flailing hand gesture in the general direction of what Sakura considered a modern day castle.

Sakura tried to shrug it off, embarrassed, "It's my Uncle's place." She responded as if that explained everything.

"My gosh what does he do? Sell the military weapons?"

"Well actually-"

"And where have you been? You've missed three days of school! You don't look sick to me," She added suspiciously, though Sakura had not said she was sick.

"Why don't you come in? I'm thirsty anyway."

Ino followed without complaining that Sakura had not answered her questions-Rather prying questions considering they had only just met. Why was she here? Surely this wasn't just about missing the practices.

Admiration lit Ino's face as they walked through the mansion, with mutterings of "Wow" and "I thought mom and dad's place was huge". Sakura could understand her amazement, she had done the same when she came to live there, but nothing quite gleamed the same or had that look of shine when she knew what had happened. Had seen what had happened. Death, like a fungus, was rotting the place inside out, she could smell it in every room, taste it in the food. It consumed everything.

Sakura pointed to a stool at the bar in the living area and Ino obligingly took a seat. She watched in surprise as Sakura went around to the back of the bar and pulled out two saucers, filling them to the brim with Saki. "You drink?" Her voice had gone up an octave as though she were ready to squeal her protest.

"Oh, yeah, well he doesn't care as long as I don't pass out or make a fool of myself," She made a gesture toward the upstairs where her Uncle would be working even as they spoke. "I can get you some tea if you prefer."

"No, it's okay. Listen," She paused watching with wide eyes as Sakura threw her head back to drink her whole saucer. "Umm well I know this is kinda strange, me being here and all, but I was really concerned. Why haven't you come back to school?"

_I can do whatever I want…_

Sakura poured another drink, Ino's question hanging in the air like a cloud of suffocating smoke. Images of a certain blonde art teacher kept coming to mind. "You see it's a bit complicated."

"I was really worried about you, and Deidara keeps asking why you haven't been to Art class." She sipped on her Saki slowly, and made a sour face. Sakura could only guess it was either her first time drinking Saki, or she really didn't have the taste for it. She went to the mini fridge for a coke, which she poured into a mug from the cupboard. "You are so lucky, I think he really likes you." There was a flicker of jealousy in her tone that made Sakura look up at her.

Lucky huh? Sakura bit her lip nervously, what did he want from her? He had the entire school on its hands and knees begging to be fucked and he chose her to mess with. "What did you tell him?"

A vacated expression spread across Ino's face, it gave Sakura the creeps, "I don't really remember what I said, I'm sure it was something like you were sick…Maybe?"

"That's okay, forget I asked." Though she was sure she had already forgotten Sakura had asked anything at all.

"Are you going to come back? We have an important test in English tomorrow you know." Ino took a gulp of the soda, her face was back to its normal nosey self.

"There's a test already?"

"Yup, it's a placement test to see who can do honors English." She looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "But none of the Sophomores want to be in Honors English."

"Why is that?"

"Because Honors English is during Deidara's art class, and whoever gets into English honors would have to go into Sasori's class, and he is sooooooo boring." She looked at Sakura with a grin, "So everybody does their best to fail, nobody studies for it."

"Oh really," Sakura attempted to keep a nonchalant face, but inside her thoughts were churning chaotically. "Exactly how difficult is this test?"

"Oh, well, you know, it is honors so it would be tough, but that doesn't matter, you wouldn't want to pass anyway."

Sakura only nodded, too distracted to give an appropriate response. The cognitive wheels were rapidly turning. She could be free of that damn art class if she were to pass the English test; she would have to study, study it all in one night. The great grandfather clock in the living room read 6:00 P.M. Plus her school books were still in her locker, the day she left she'd been too upset to grab anything let alone school books when she had no homework.

An hour passed and Ino talked incessantly about everything ranging from who had asked who out, and what shoes she should wear tomorrow to school, none of this concerned Sakura who could only think about how she could get into the school that night and get Ino to leave without arousing suspicion.

"-tomorrow, right?"

"What?" She had realized she was being asked a question a second too late, "Sorry, I missed that."

Ino gave her an exasperated look, and asked again. "You're coming to school right? Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'm coming, but you know I'm still not feeling too well. If I go to sleep now I think I'll be okay for tomorrow…" She led off hoping Ino would catch a clue, "It's getting kind of late, so yeah…"

"Oh!" Ino's eyes had wandered to the grandfather clock which was currently chiming seven times. "Yeah, I better go. It's going to be dark soon, parents will get pissy if I'm late." She hopped gracefully from her barstool, swinging her purse around her neck and shoulder.

"Would you like to take a limo? I can have one here in ten minutes." Sakura offered suddenly feeling guilty for ending Ino's visit abruptly.

She harrumphed, "Please Sakura, I'm nosy not lazy. By the time your limo got here I could have walked home and back again."

"Okay, if you say so."

With a hug and a promise to see each other at school the next day Ino left. Sakura watched from one of the many windows in the main entrance as the estate's front gates opened and shut for Ino to leave. Once she was gone Sakura raced to her room for some running shoes and her backpack.

By the time she made it outside to her bike the sky was bruised with purple, red, and pink markings. Twilight was about to give way to nightfall; Sakura had never really minded the dark but the thought of searching blindly in the same school she had nearly been molested in did nothing to ease her thoughts. Instead of using the front gates she took the side closest to the forest trail she used to walk to school, it was a shortcut she had discovered during the summer while out exploring. She had found it best during the summer months to stay out of her uncle's estate as much as possible. Staying away from her uncle was a top priority.

Their relationship had never been quite the same since that night, and Sakura understood more clearly than ever he allowed her to stay out of love for his departed wife. Her uncle only wished to be alone and so she had granted that wish to the best of her ability. She lived with a hollow shell; a man that had known a love that could never be replaced or revived. When her Aunt died, he also had died. He breathed, slept, ate; functioned was really the word, but he didn't truly live. Privately Sakura vowed to never love someone so deeply as to not be able to _live_ without them. There had to be recovery, but for Uncle Pein there was no recovery, only the next day, and the day after, and maybe even the day after that.

The ride to the school was peaceful, Sakura had always been more comfortable with the dark of night than the brilliance of day. Her bike rode smoothly even over the rough spots in the terrain. Pebbles and leaves crunched beneath the tires, and her hair whipped wildly in the wind. She felt adventurous and free, able to go anywhere, do anything of her own free will.

Then Konoha High came into view and those feelings were squashed under a sense of foreboding. A little bell was sounding in her head telling her to turn back and never approach the school again. A sick, nauseating sensation spread from her stomach deadening her limbs. For a moment she didn't think she could even support her bike and she nearly fell over. She could see nothing wrong, but that feeling of dread…

The school looked to be the same with its darkened glass windows and doors, graceful arches covering the walkways, the empty parking lot…Well perhaps not empty, there were two cars sitting idly waiting for their drivers to return. A teacher or janitor most likely. Hopefully not a certain teacher, Sakura thought, watching the cars suspiciously as though Deidara might pop out of one.

She regained feeling in her limbs and her heart slowed to a normal pace. The film of cold sweat that covered her body dried as she rode her bike down the hill to Konoha High. She almost felt normal by the time her ride hit the pavement and pedaled past the vacant cars giving them a wide birth. The same ominous feeling crept up her spine, but she refused to let it cripple her. Each breath she took slowly, and each step was one at a time.

Sakura left her bike leaning against one of the pillars near the back exit. The doors were unlocked, she entered with a promise to herself to be in and out of the school as quickly as possible. The halls were dimly lit with only half the usual amount of lights on. Her shoes squeaked, echoing, impossibly loud in the empty corridors. She stopped to examine a random locker which read 27, her locker was 113. She had a little ways to go.

The hallway led to the lobby room which she recognized immediately. The ceiling was glass and she could see outside it was dark, a few stars shone through the mass of clouds but mostly the sky was a grayish black. She remembered all the hallways connected to this room, it was the heart of the school. Directly across was the cafeteria, the hall next to the cafeteria led to the main offices. The corridor to her left went off into the rather extensive library, which she had taken some time to check out her first day of school. She had a feeling she'd be spending a lot of time in there. At her last school she had spent all her breaks, and her lunch in the library. It was cool and quiet, removed from the dizzying crowds and the disorienting noise. Away from the gossip and pettiness of high school life. There had been a time when she had been very much a part of that circle of people that giggled at passing guys and squealed with cruel laughter at others.

And then her parents had died and nothing really seemed to matter as it had before. Everything she thought was important turned shallow and superficial. Death had shown her nothing lasted, everyone and everything died and withered. That hot guy that just gave you that dazzling smile? In so many years he would wrinkle and lose all those pearly whites. The dress you just had to have, the one your parents couldn't afford but bought you anyway because they wanted to see you happy? It would rip and tear, or go out of fashion sooner or later.

She shook her head taking a deep steadying breath. Why was she doing this now? Hadn't she made a promise to be in and out? The promise, right. She turned right and took the first hallway, this one she remembered as being the 100's section. Her locker was close now, not even ten feet away, but something made her slow down staring into the dark abyss of the hall. It was a light, one of the teacher's lights was on. No big deal, they were probably grading some papers, catching up on teacher stuff. Somehow Sakura knew that was not the case, but there was no indication otherwise, only a sinking feeling. The same feeling she had on the trail outside the school.

Even as she approached her locker her eyes never swayed from the lighted room, there was something queer about the lights, the room glowed eerily like with candle light. Her hands twisted the lock back and forth, 12-6-22, she only missed once before the door opened. She grabbed the English book shoving it forcefully into her backpack.

She almost left without looking back, she should have left, but curiosity was killing the dread feeling. Who could be at the school this late? Why was the room lit so dimly? It was like she was a fish being pulled by a hook, not really wanting to go but being dragged there none-the-less.

The door was slightly ajar and she could hear moans coming from within. Moans of pleasure, of pain. She had never heard someone make those sounds before, "More, more, please." Sakura's eyes consumed her face, in the door window she could see two figures, naked and pressed against each other on top of a desk. Sakura put a hand over her mouth, her breathing became ragged and shallow. The woman was her geometry teacher, Mrs. Yuhi. She was panting, her nails clawing at the man's back leaving red ribbons in their wake. Sweat glistened off her face and dripped down her raven locks. Her reddish brown eyes locked onto Sakura's, but she saw right past her, not registering her student's presence.

The man was no other than Deidara, though his back was turned Sakura knew it had to be Deidara, Sakura had never seen any other man wear his long, gold hair in a high pony-tail before. Sakura watched, hypnotized, as her art teacher leaned Mrs. Yuhi back licking her long slender neck. His hips bucked slowly, deeply and the geometry teacher moaned louder. She was reaching a crescendo. Embarrassed Sakura turned away berating herself for not leaving the school when she had grabbed her book.

If Mrs. Yuhi ever found out she had been watching her and Deidara…Well put nicely it would be a very awkward year for both of them. I wonder if she is married, Sakura thought idly as she backed away and speedily walked the opposite direction of the uncomfortable scene. She was halfway to the lobby room when a scream rent the air, she almost took off at a run but a guilty conscience froze her in place. Was it normal to scream during sex? She didn't know, it had sounded as though Mrs. Yuhi was scared and in pain. She shifted from foot to foot nervously at a complete loss on what to do.

She could leave and act as though she'd never been there in the first place, but if her teacher were hurt, if she needed Sakura's help and she just walked away…She would never get over the guilt, she'd have to live with that for the rest of her life. Resolutely she turned on her heels, all the while her heart pummeled the inside of her chest the sound reverberating in her ears.

She was shaking by the time she reached the candlelit room, her eyes impossibly huge. Her palms were sweaty, but she was cold with dread and terror. Something evil was happening in that room, she should run now. Whatever had Mrs. Yuhi was powerful, evil beyond Sakura's comprehension. But she could not stop herself, that hook was pulling her again to the window.

Sakura's breath hitched for a scream, but she managed to stop herself, cutting it off with a hand to the mouth. Mrs. Yuhi, naked and vulnerable, was in Deidara's arms his mouth was at her throat, rivulets of crimson sparkled in the fire light, flowing freely from his mouth down her neck and chest.

Mrs. Yuhi was staring at her, tears forming a river from her eyes down her cheeks to Deidara's back. He was hurting her, this was not normal, it couldn't be she reasoned. Mrs. Yuhi was fading fast, her eyes began to droop with fatigue and her hands went limp. Anger fueled Sakura into action, reaching into her backpack she took out her English book. She swung the classroom door open ignoring the way the walls vibrated upon impact. Her art teacher startled, turning in time to see the textbook flying toward him. It slapped him in the back with skin-reddening force.

Sakura merely reacted, she didn't stay to watch but she heard the blow, like a fat guy who belly flopped into a shallow pool of water. Oh dear God, why did I do that? Why didn't I call the police? Because Deidara is too much of a weasel, everybody around him _loves _him. She alone seemed immune to his charms, though she could not fathom why. Even if she had called 911, he would have found a way out of it, not to mention Mrs. Yuhi would have been dead and Deidara gone by the time they arrived and searched the school.

She ran hard and fast, never in her life had she run so furiously. She wasn't even sure she was being pursued, though she felt ghost fingers grabbing her backpack. Panic rose like bile in her throat, the terror making her stumble and nearly fall; like in a dream when the monster is coming for you and you know you have to run or be eaten, but your legs won't work, the fear making it impossible to move let alone run. It wasn't until she reached the lobby room she ran into what she thought at first to be a pillar, a pillar that spontaneously appeared out of thin air.

The air was completely knocked out of her, falling backwards onto the unforgiving tile floor. Her head hit the floor and everything went black. Her vision returned and she was staring up into the night sky, the ceiling of the lobby area. She groaned rolling onto her stomach, but she was too disoriented to sit up.

What had she run into?

"Déjà vu, hm?" She wanted to cry, not him, how had he beat her down the hall? She'd been running so fast, and she had had a head start. How was it even possible? He had been waiting, had to have been waiting for her to hit him head on like that. No one was that fast, no one.

Sakura attempted to slide away on her forearms, to put some distance between them, but Deidara chuckled placing his boot on the small of her back. "Where do you think you're going? I can't have a peeping tom wandering about the school, now can I, hm?"

Sakura couldn't respond, her breath came in shallow gasps. She was in shock, and her terror was disarming any brain power she might have summoned. A tear onto the cold floor. How could she fight against something like this? She was helpless, what had she been thinking throwing the book at him?

Mrs. Yuhi…

Yes, Mrs. Yuhi, her geometry teacher. She had been so kind to Sakura on her first day of school. She was a beautiful woman, gentle and sweet. Even in their brief meeting Sakura had known she would like Mrs. Yuhi, that they would get along well. Now she was naked and bruised on a desk, maybe dead. Sakura remembered her face when Deidara had been biting her, grimaced, and twisted in pain. How her tears had streamed, how scared she looked. Anger overrode her fear, she felt it boil and bubble.

"Monster." She gasped.

"What was that?" Powerful hands flipped her onto her backside, straddling and pinning her down. She didn't try to struggle, just glared furiously up at him. "I didn't quite catch that, hm."

"What did you do to Mrs. Yuhi?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but he heard her clearly.

He grinned showing off a row of shark teeth, Sakura unconsciously gulped. "I gave her the time of her life, hm. She's been a little neglected by her husband so she came to me asking for help."

"Liar." His smile grew wider as if he thought it were funny, "You raped her didn't you?"

The smile faltered. "It's not rape if she wants it Sakura, there's a big difference."

"She was crying! I saw her, she was scared!"

He shrugged as though it did not matter one way or another, "Maybe you're just projecting yourself onto her, you seem a little scared right now."

"Let me go." She demanded ignoring his jibe.

"You just need to relax is all. You're way too tense." He leaned forward breathing in her scent, she jerked when she felt him lick the curve of her neck. It was strangely cold, unnatural. "Mmm delicious, can I have just a little taste?"

"No!" She wiggled underneath him, but even with all her strength he wouldn't budge. She yelped when he nipped her throat, a warm wetness spread down her neck to her chest soaking her shirt. He lapped up her blood like a dog, moaning.

"So, so good, hm." Deidara pulled back, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. His eyes held hers, glowing eerily, illuminating the dark surrounding them. They were…beautiful. She could lose herself in those eyes, they pulled her in like an ocean's undercurrent. The pain was fading. Deeper, deeper, drowning, her erratic breathing slowed, her muscles unwound, and her mind lost its sense of self preservation. "There now, that's better. I knew you couldn't resist me for long, hm."

Sakura gazed up into those gems, so sure everything would be okay, secure in _his_ presence. Except everything was not okay, she blinked, something wasn't right, she blinked again harder this time attempting to pull away from that hypnotizing stare. Images were coming back to her, painful pictures, at first blurred, then sharper: Mrs. Yuhi crying in a monster's embrace, her parent's funereal their coffins open for all the world to see, her uncle's look of thinly concealed hatred, her aunt telling her she was going to go freshen up with a hot bath…

"No," Deidara's hooded eyes grew like pools of water on a rainy day. "You can not have me. Let me go."

"Well, well ladies and gentlemen we have a fighter." He laughed delightedly, "For a moment I thought you would disappoint me Sakura, hm." To her surprise his weight was lifted freeing her arms and legs, she didn't move afraid it was some sort of sick trick. "Go on, you can go see how your beloved teacher is doing."

Slowly, not nearly as gracefully as Deidara had, she stood wincing at the knifelike throb in her side. She walked leaning against the lockers for support, glancing back to find Deidara had done another disappearing act.

She found Mrs. Yuhi in a very indecent position on the desk, her eyes closed. Sakura felt for a pulse, and found a steady, even beat. "Thank God." The room was darker than before with a few of the candles blown out, even so she couldn't risk somebody else seeing her like this. Mrs. Yuhi's jacket was hanging off her chair, Sakura grabbed it and placed it tenderly over her body.

"She's better than she's ever been, you know." Sakura startled at the voice coming from the classroom door. "I have a symbiotic relationship with humans; they have what I need and I give what they want. Both parties win, though sometimes only one wins, hm." He added darkly.

"What are you?" He stepped into the remaining candle light like an angel of shadows, an amused smirk played across his handsome face when she stepped protectively closer to Mrs. Yuhi.

"It does not matter, suffice to say I am a provider for humanity. My services are highly requested." He held his hands out, "You have no need to be afraid of me, tonight anyway. I do so love a challenge though, hm." His smirk bloomed into a full blown smile, those impossibly razor sharp teeth glittering dangerously in the light.

"And just what is the price for these services?"

He didn't respond immediately just watched her thoughtfully, "You ask a lot of questions. Let's just say the experience is worth the price."

I doubt that, she thought eyeing him suspiciously, "Come now Sakura, if I had wanted you tonight I would have had you. Shouldn't you be going home? It is a school night after all."

"What are you going to do with Mrs. Yuhi?" Sakura couldn't just leave her teacher, not after what she had been through, however she wasn't sure what to do with her either. Maybe she should call an ambulance, or the police, but what would she tell them? They would have one talk with Deidara (if he even stuck around) and fall completely for his charm, he would probably even convince them she had done this.

He gave her a condescending smirk as though her concern for Mrs. Yuhi was humorous. "I'm not going to do a thing with her, I've already had my fun, hm. Now don't get your feathers ruffled, she'll wake up in a few hours and go home. Though I doubt she'll be teaching your geometry class tomorrow."

He turned to leave, stopping in the doorway to add, "I may just have to volunteer to sub." His laugh echoed down the corridor, ringing in Sakura's ears. That laugh would follow her into her dreams, and nightmares beyond.

With a shaky sigh and an apology to the unconscious Mrs. Yuhi she went home.


End file.
